Vagrant Story, Legend of Mana reach Canada

[06.22.00] » With French-language manuals now included, Square's first RPGs of the summer are finally ready for sale in the northern end of North America.

   After numerous setbacks due to intervention by the government of Quebec, Square EA's Vagrant Story has finally reached Canadian retailers, while stores are expected to receive shipments of Legend of Mana within days. French-language instruction manuals, the cause for the delay, are now packaged with both games. Hopefully, the much shorter delay between Legend of Mana's U.S. and Canadian release dates, compared to Vagrant Story's month-long setback, implies that Square EA is working to prevent the problem from occuring again in the future.

   On a related note, Quebec's Superior Court yesterday ruled that the province "has no power, jurisdiction or discretion to require exclusive use of French software under the Charter of the French Language," according to a ruling by Justice Pierre Dalphond. While the court's decision only applies for usage of English software in the workplace, the news could pave the way to future lawsuits and changes to the province's Charter of the French Language and the way it handles software -- including, of course, video games.